Mirko Novosel

Mirko Novosel

Cibona
Position	Honorary president
League	HT Premijer liga ABA League
Personal information
Born	(1938-06-30)30 June 1938 Zagreb, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died	20 July 2023(2023-07-20) (aged 85)
Nationality	Croatian
Career information
Playing career	1952–1966
Coaching career	1967–1993
Career history
As player:
1952–1966	Lokomotiva
As coach:
1967–1971	Lokomotiva
1976–1985	Cibona
1986–1988	Cibona
1988–1990	Napoli
Career highlights and awards
As head coach 2× EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986) European Coach of the Year (1985) 2× FIBA European Selection (1995) 2× FIBA Saporta Cup champion (1982, 1987) 2× Yugoslav League champion (1982, 1984) 7× Yugoslav Cup winner (1969, 1980–1983, 1985, 1988)
Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame
Medals Men's basketball Head Coach for Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 1984 Los Angeles FIBA World Cup 1974 Puerto Rico EuroBasket 1973 Spain 1975 Yugoslavia Head Coach for Croatia 1993 Germany

Mirko Novosel (30 June 1938 – 20 July 2023) was a Croatian professional basketball coach and player.

Novosel coached some of the greatest players in former Yugoslavia and Croatia, such as Croatian Hall of Fame players Krešimir Ćosić and Dražen Petrović. He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a coach, on 7 September 2007. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, as a coach, in 2010.

Playing career

Novosel played club basketball, from 1952 to 1966, with Lokomotiva Zagreb.

Coaching career

Novosel coached Cibona to two Yugoslav League titles, seven Yugoslav Cups, and the two European Champions Cup titles in 1985 and 1986, when he was named the European Coach of the Year.

National team coaching career

As the head coach, Novosel led the senior men's Yugoslav national team to the gold medals at the 1973 FIBA European Championship and the 1975 FIBA European Championship, the silver medal at the 1974 FIBA World Championship, the silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Novosel was also the head coach of the senior men's Croatia national team, leading them to the bronze medal at the 1993 European Championship.

Death

Mirko Novosel died on 20 July 2023, at the age of 85.

Career achievements

Club career

• FIBA European Champions Cup: 1 (with Cibona: 1984–85)
• FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup (Saporta Cup): 2 (with Cibona: 1981–82, 1986–87)
• FIBA European Champions Cup – top 6 (with Cibona: 1982–83)
• FIBA Korać Cup – finalist (with Cibona: 1979–80, 1987–88)
• Yugoslav League: 2 (with Cibona: 1981–82, 1983–84)
• Yugoslav Cup: 7 (with Cibona: 1968–69 (under the name Lokomotiva), 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88)

See also

• List of FIBA EuroBasket winning head coaches
• List of EuroLeague-winning head coaches

External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame page on Novosel
• FIBA Hall of Fame Profile